www.alkoholpolitik.ch

This report presents the results of a study of substance use among young people in Ireland based on information collected in 2008 during face-to-face interviews with 991 people, aged between 15 and 18. The target population comprised school-attending students and young people who, having left school, were attending either a Youthreach centre for education or FÁS Community Training Centre. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 01/18/11) nacd.ie, October 2010

Alcohol use is the third greatest contributor to the global burden of disease, estimated to cause 3.8% of all deaths. Among people aged 15 to 44 years, alcohol is estimated to result in 4.6% of all disability-adjusted life years lost and a disproportionate number of fatal injuries. 2 Heavy drinking is classified as the consumption of more than 210 g of alcohol per week for men and more than 140 g per week for women, owing to differences in clearance and body size. As a metabolic poison, heavy alcohol use is
associated with cardiovascular disease, oral cancers and liver cirrhosis. As an intoxicant, it causes dependency, injuries and trauma as well as substantial social harms. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 01/18/11) cmaj.ca, CMAJ 2011. DOI:10.1503/cmaj.110029 our Online-Comment: In May 2010 the General Assembly of the World Health Organization held in Geneva accepted with all votes of the 193 member states a Resolution on a global Alcohol Strategy. In it the evidence-based measures are listed which reduce the general consumption of alcohol in a given society. No need to wait any longer.

There is an essay in this month’s The Atlantic called “The Hazards of Duke: A now infamous PowerPoint presentation exposes a lot about men, women, sex, and alcohol—and about how universities are letting their female students down” by Caitlin Flanagan, likely of interest to feminist philosophers.
There a few themes in the article but one of them is the increased rates of drinking among college aged women. I haven’t heard much about this before and I’m interested to know what blog readers make of the article. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 01/14/11) feministphilosophers.wordpress.com, 01/13/11 with our Online-Comment

For more than two decades, the codified method to regulate which businesses could sell alcohol in Jefferson Parish had lain dormant. That changed in March, and the newly constituted Alcohol Beverage Permit Review Committee has kicked its operations into high gear.
The Parish Council will weigh the committee’s recommendations that it bar seven establishments, mostly in the Fat City area of Metairie, from renewing their annual alcohol retail permits. And in a sign that the committee is extending its reach beyond that contentious cluster of low-rent apartments, bars and strip mall parking lots, the council will also consider suspending the permits for seven more businesses, including three along Airline Drive. … (Source: Google Alcohol News, 01/12/11) nola.com, 01/11/11

Acculturation stress may be part of the reason some Mexican and Mexican-American teens living in the U.S. report high rates of marijuana and alcohol use, Fox News Latino reported Dec. 30. …
The study, led by Jennifer A. Kam, assistant professor of communications at Ohio State University, found that increases in perceived discrimination over time were related to increases in acculturation stress, which in turn were associated with increased risk of alcohol, pot, and tobacco dependence. (Source: Join Together, 01/11/11)

“We offer 20 appointments each day, and for the entire semester we have been pretty much filled every day,” said Linda LaSalle, associate director for educational services at University Health Services.
The nationally recognized program, called Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS), is aimed at reducing high-risk drinking.
Students who were cited for an alcohol violation or had an alcohol-related visit to the emergency room at Mount Nittany Medical Center were required to complete two one-hour sessions with a community health educator and were charged $200. Students who referred themselves were not charged. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 01/11/11) centredaily.com, 01/10/11

Arrest Report Says More Than 100 Juveniles Attended Open-House Party.
VERO BEACH, Fla. — A Vero Beach woman was arrested Saturday night after she hosted an open-house party where alcohol was served to more than 100 underage guests, the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office said.
Laura Bloom was arrested on charges of open house party and contributing to the delinquency of a child, both misdemeanors. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 01/11/11) wpbf.com, 01/10/11

Three out of ten municipal alcohol administrators have experienced threats in connection with their work of inspecting alcoholic beverage serving at restaurants and pubs, according to a survey among the country’s all 308 alcohol administrators in Sweden. (Source: Alcohol Reports, 1/10/11) stockholmnews.com, 1/08/11

Several Minors Charged With Possession Of Alcohol.
Police responding to a report of a loud party at an apartment at 177 Mentor Drive at about 1:30 a.m. noticed several juveniles inside the apartment were drinking and holding alcoholic beverages, according to a police news release.
When the officers knocked on the door, the juveniles locked the door and refused to let them in, police said. Numerous beer cans were then thrown over the third-story deck behind the apartment and another officer witnessed the occupants dumping alcohol into a sink, police said.
Police entered the home after receiving a search warrant and found numerous alcoholic beverages throughout the home, according to a police news release. Eleven individuals ranging in age from 17 to 20 were inside the apartment, police said. (Source: Google Alcohol News, 01/09/11) wmur.com, 01/08/11

Government, producers, law enforcement, sellers and parents all have a role to play in bringing about a better drinking culture in this country, writes Tim Salt from the alcohol industry.
Another year, another silly season. Over the past few weeks we have seen the inevitable reports of people getting drunk and behaving badly. During schoolies week it was images of teenagers celebrating the end of school by drinking too much. And on the eve of the new year, we will no doubt see more reports of people drinking to excess and creating a headache for society. Inevitably, anti-alcohol groups have responded as they always do – by attacking the product rather than the behaviour. … (Source: Alcohol Reports, 12/26/10) theage.com.au, 12/26/10 Comment: The alcohol industry complaints that its self regulation doesn’t work. It cannot understand that better prevention measures are needed, e.g. the proposals of the World Health Organization’s global alcohol strategy. We have now the result of decades of alcohol marketing.